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new york – Ulta is turning to AI to improve the experience for its loyalty members, according to Kecia Steelman, the retailer’s CEO.
Speaking Monday at the National Retail Federation’s 2026 Big Show in New York City, the CEO noted that AI technology could help Ulta leverage existing customer data to make more personalized and predictive product recommendations.
“I think with the future of AI and artificial intelligence, we can really make that happen,” Steelman told the audience. “We think we’re very well positioned to leverage AI into this platform and take our business to the next level. Guests will feel like we’re talking to them in a one-on-one scenario.”
But Steelman emphasized that since the majority of the company’s sales still come through its stores, it’s important to consider how AI can be used to improve employee product knowledge and customer interactions.
Meanwhile, in another session at the conference, Josh Friedman, the company’s senior vice president of e-commerce and digital, said Ulta is working on developing its own AI agent. Friedman said Ulta’s agent roadmap is still a work in progress, but he believes the company knows what kind of agents it wants to build.
Friedman also mentioned the company’s third-party marketplace. released in October — A convenient way to quickly add content to Ulta’s website, useful in a world where AI agents comb the internet.
“We knew the right thing to do was to increase our selection, which our guests were honestly asking for,” Friedman said. “And now having all the content that comes with it, both content that comes from sellers and content that is generated within the community, is going to be very helpful to agent commerce, not just this year but for years to come.”
